Sometimes, innovation is a marathon not a sprint. This is certainly true of the Progress MonoRoll HE – a revolutionary pellet mill from PTN (Pelleting Technology Netherlands), part of the Triott Group. Thanks to its unique design developed over many years, the MonoRoll HE requires 20-25% less energy versus traditional pellet mills with the potential to save nearly € 33,000 per year, per pellet mill and achieve ROI in three years*. It’s also more durable and robust, less noisy and easier to operate with hardly any vibration – thus offering improved cost of ownership and excellent ROI for feed mill owners and manufacturers.
The challenge
The traditional pellet mill uses two or three rollers to press the conditioned mash feed into their final (pelletized) form. For many years it would feature three rollers, each set at a 120-degree angle; which evolved to a dual-roller. But neither technology could truly solve the challenge of excessive force on the heavy bearings of the solid main shaft – which in turn made the machine both energy and economically inefficient and even unstable, with heavy noise and vibration. It was in the early 80’s that the founder of PTN, Tony van Benthum, began exploring a single-roll principle. And it’s his son Marty van Benthum, CEO of PTN, who has now brought the project to commercial fruition after picking it up again in 2015.
The solution
After more than three years of intense re-development, PTN’s parent company Triott has now officially launched the Progress MonoRoll HE pellet mill – the only single-roll machine available today, and based on unique technology. “Our decision to revisit this technology was driven purely by what customers in the feed industry were telling us,” says Marty. “The pellet mill is probably the most energy-hungry machine in the entire feed mill; yet manufacturers are under constantly increasing pressure from regulators to reduce their emissions. This technology enables them to achieve this – while increasing their overall price/performance. We believe it’s a real win-win – especially for larger mills running multiple pellet mills.”
The single MonoRoll pellet mill is strong, sturdy and virtually silent with minimal vibration and much lower RPM than traditional pellet mills. Furthermore, the wider diameter of the single roller significantly reduces the risk of roll slip common in conventional pellet mills. “The steepness of the inlet angle between the big roller and the die is much less than with a 2 or 3 roller pellet mill,” explains Marty.
* Tests assume a minimum realizable capacity of 12 t / h for the MonoRoll press. Based on a 22 hour-per-day/6 days-per week/52 weeks-per year operation this yields 82,368 tons per year. In terms of energy gain, the MonoRoll delivers 2.5 / 3 to 5 kWh / ton. We assume 4 kWh / ton with a capacity of 12 t / h, with 1 kWh assumed to cost around 10 Euro cents.
Following a lengthy pilot stage conducted with trusted PTN customers – coupled with extensive evaluation by two separate independent experts: IFF and more recently, Zetadec – the Progress MonoRoll HE pellet mill is now ready to make a real impact. Specifically, it delivers:
A 20-25% increase in energy efficiency versus conventional pellet mills – enabling customers to produce the same output with lower emissions; or increase their output using the same energy – by even more than 25% at higher capacities.
Improved cost of ownership: initial calculations suggest nearly € 33,000 per pellet mill* per year, resulting in ROI within three years – and even less at higher capacity.
Less roller slip, thus making the machine easier to operate with less downtime.
Less wear and tear (higher tool life) and less noise and vibration thanks to lower die speeds.
An extremely high-quality and consistent final product: Early indications are a better structure of the feed (analysis ongoing).
Ultimately, the Progress MonoRoll offers the potential to run much higher capacity with more output – but using less energy and labour. “This has been a long innovation journey but now we are ready to really shake up the industry with this technology,” says Marty. “It’s proven, it’s effective, and it gives feed mill owners and managers what they need the most – the ability to be more competitive in their markets.”
Möhlenkamp is a feed producer in Germany. The company produces high-quality pelleted compound feed. PTN designed and manufactured several types of machinery for their production facility.
